My Older Brothers

10

"You're still here." I state looking at my brother. I had just woken up from my sleep in the middle of the night only to find that Miles was watching a movie on my TV.

"Yeah, and I'm not leaving." He says going back to the movie.

He really hasn't left my room. Even when we had dinner he stayed. Cole felt bad and brought some up to him and he ate in my room. Why is he being so persistent about this? I'm not even the one who hit him. I consider myself a bystander, a witness even, not an accomplice.  

"Just leave already." I tell him. Tomorrow's a school day and I need to sleep. The TV light is so bright making my wish hard to do. 

"All you have to do is apologize." He says calmly.

"But-"

"Nope, no buts. If you're not gonna apologize be quiet. I'm trying to watch a movie here." He says

"Why don't you ask Katie to apologize at school tomorrow?" I ask him 

"I want you to apologize for everything you were a part of this week." I frown my eyebrows

"What do you mean?" I ask

"You let Katie hit me with a frisbee, you asked Beck to steal my icy hot, and you let Beck hide in your room when he stool my favorite skateboard." I look at him shocked

"How'd you know that Beck stole your icy hot for me?" 

"Because when you told him to put it back, he just walked into my room and put it in my drawer. I asked him why he took it and he said you asked him to. Oh and he also said he got three dollars for free." Miles says

"I'm sorry, my legs really hurt and I thought you'd say no and Beck offered so I just..." I trail off, feeling slightly guilty and not knowing what to say. 

Miles looks from the TV again and smiles. Just like all of his smiles, this one is big and playful. He stands up and walks over to my bed, sitting on it.

"I knew I'd get you to apologize before morning." My eyes widened in realization. I play back the words I just said in my head.

I just apologized without noticing. I didn't even realize that I said the words 'I'm sorry'. Miles just guilt tripped me.

He laughs at my face and pokes my nose. "This was too easy."

I playfully punch him. "One day I'll get you back."

He smirks. "You can try"

"Whatever. Can you leave now? I'm getting tired." I say rubbing my eyes

"I would but... it's dark in the hallway." He says quietly

I forgot he was afraid of the dark. And they call me the baby of the family.

Miles looks at me with a puppy face. "Can I please stay here? I'll turn off the TV and I'll be super quiet, I promise."

Too tired to think right, I nod my head and get comfy on my bed. Pulling the sheets back over me and laying my head back on the pillow. Miles turns off the TV and jumps on my bed.

"I thought you said you would be quiet." I mumble

"I will, starting now." After he says that he gets under the sheets and hugs me from behind.

"Goodnight Hazel." He says

"Goodnight Miles." I say back

***

"A LOVELY MONDAY HAS ARRIVED! EVERYONE UP!" Martin's voice echoes through the hallway. 

Like every school morning he bangs on everyone's door until they wake up and try to punch him. I'm lucky because my door is at the end of the hallway.

I'm the only one who doesn't get up when Martin comes, so Cole comes five minutes later to wake me up. Miles groans and hugs me tighter. 

For some reason I always feel cold in the morning. I pull the blankets over my head and cover my face to try and stop the light.

Martin gets to my door and starts banging on it. "Wake up, you sleepy heads! You gotta go to school. I know you guys aren't sick."

After a minute of Martin banging the door, Miles gets up and grumpily stomps to the door. He opens the door and throws his fist, but like everyone else he misses Martin. Martin ducks right before Miles's fist can hit him, making Miles's fist punch the air.

"Glad to see you awake. Go get dressed." Martin says walking away.

Miles walks out of my room and to his own to get ready for school. I go back to sleep but not for long. The covers are thrown off of me causing the cold air to touch my skin. I curl up trying to gain the heat back.

"Time to get Haz" I hear Cole say

"NO." I groan

He sighs and picks me up. "You just have a few days left of school, then you can sleep in as long as you want to. You got this."

He open my bathroom door and sets me on the floor. He turns on the water to get it warm and throws my towel over my head.

"I'll put your uniform on your bed. Take a shower to wake you up. I'll try to save you some waffles for breakfast. Don't be late, get moving." Cole says walking out of the door.

Slowly, I take off my pj's and make my way to the shower and step in. After my shower I grab my towel and walk out of the bathroom. I put on my uniform, get my things ready for school, and head downstairs.

Everyone is down there in the kitchen. Even my mom and dad. Now fully awake, I run downstairs and hug my mom.

She laughs. "I missed you too sweetie. How have you been?"

"Good" I mumble into her shirt.

Someone clears their throat making me look up. My dad has a coffee mug in his right hand and a newspaper in the other. I give him a hug too and he rubs my back.

"Good morning." I say to him with a smile

"Good morning." he says back

I go to Cole who hands me a plate of waffles and some orange juice. I find a spot to sit and begin eating my food. After a few minutes, Kade comes to sit by me. 

"Are you gonna finish that?" he asks

"You can have it." I say handing it to him

"Guys, hurry up. It's almost time to go." Cole says

Our mom and dad get up and grab their stuff. Before exiting the door, they look back at us.

"We're sorry but we won't see you guys for the next couple of days." Mom says

We all frowned. "Why?" Lane asks

"We're going on a business trip." Dad says

"You guys just came back." Miles says

"We know, but something came up. We'll be back as soon as possible." Mom says

We don't say anything giving them their cue to leave. "Bye guys, we love you." Mom says blowing us a kiss.

They close the door and we listen as their car starts and drives off.

"Let's get going guys, you don't want to be late." Cole says bluntly

Since Martin and Cole don't go to school, Lane drives us all. The five of us get up and grab our bags. We head out the door and get into Lane's car.

I think Mondays are the worst day of the week.

(A/N: The next chapter is going to be about Hazel going to school. If anyone was wondering, she is in high school. Thanks for reading this chapter!)